Brotherly Love

Garry Marshall volunteered to deliver the “thank you” speech for sister Penny as she was toasted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Friday night at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Garry told me Penny had undergone dental surgery that day and would have to pantomime his (her) words as he delivered them. Garry was now also telling me about his experience directing Lindsay Lohan in “Georgia Rules.” He had politely refrained from making any comments during the filming when Lindsay had been chastised by Morgan Creek’s topper James Robinson for unprofessional behavior — lateness, absenteeism, etc.

Principal photography is completed and Garry is in the editing room and Lindsay — well, you know what Lindsay is doing. Her doings with/and without Paris Hilton are daily fodder for fotogs and her followers. But Marshall tells, “Lindsay is going to surprise a lot of people. She’s just 20 and her acting is so good. You’ll see a different Lindsay in my picture. She, Felicity Huffman and Jane Fonda are three great ladies in my picture.”

Also Friday night at the Geffen Theater in Westwood, L.A. Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa interviewed Comedy Central’s — and last year’s Oscar host — Jon Stewart. He winged out from N.Y. for a fundraiser for the Geffen Playhouse Capital Campaign.

The Mayor held his own with Stewart — but admitted he has no showbiz ambitions. After the brief interview, the show was open to questions from the audience. They were tame. The evening raised $75,000. The Mayor lingered longer in the theater’s lobby to answer additional questions from the voters — he’d been to a Temple pre-Geffen and his car was waiting outside the Geffen to take him to a third event that night. He’s got strength. He’s got votes.